But for Brian McGough, retail analyst at risk management firm Hedgeye, the move was no surprise.

“I would think it would’ve been much more than that,” McGough said. “They have a lot more marginal locations.”

McGough said this could be just the first announcement of 30 or more store closures that could come within the next year or so.

The Plano-based retailer operates roughly 1,100 stores nationwide. The closures were scattered across its footprint, with none in Texas.

“I would like to see the company with a smaller, much more focused base of stores,” McGough said. “This is a baby step toward that.”

The announcement comes just one week after Penney (NYSE: JCP) announced that it was pleased with its holiday sales. After the company chose not to provide any details, the stock dropped 10 percent by the close of that day.

“The biggest reason why the stock was down was because it (Penney) didn’t give a single number,” McGough said. “Just give me a number, any number – pick one. But they didn’t.”

McGough said the choice to hold back holiday sales information most likely was because of a slowdown the retailer may have experienced at the end of the Christmas season, when retailers in general, struggled to make sales. Penney most likely posted strong Black Friday and early holiday sales, but fell victim to the macro slowdown later in the season, McGough said. So instead of revealing any lukewarm numbers, it Penney chose not to release any at all, he said.

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